Tacurong Rivals Guimaras Mango*

by MEDIATRIX P. CRISTOBAL

* A reprint from Horticulture and Aquaculture, A compilation of success stories published by the Department of Science and Technology. Book 4 - 2008. First of two (2) parts.

What used to be seasonal mangoes are now harvested the year round. Which is more than what Sultan Kudarat aspires for, to make making the province one of the biggest mango producers in the region if not the whole country and giving the famous Guimaras mango a run for its money.

"Here in Koronadal, you see mango the year round," said Darlene Marquez, Agriculture Director of the Sultan Kudarat Polytechnical State College (SKPSC). "Farmers learned from our training programs on induced production and they now harvest mango all year."

Marquez heads the polytechnic’s Mango Project which started in 1995. Now 12 years later, the SKPSC is virtually a brand name when it comes to sourcing quality mango seedlings and plantlets this side of Mindanao.

With support from the Department of Science and Technology’s (DOST) Small Enterprises Technology Upgrading Program (SET-UP), the Mango Project has managed to carve a niche for itself in less than a decade.

SET-UP is a DOST initiative to help aspiring entrepreneurs succeed in their businesses.

With a start up fund from SET-UP of P52,000, a small mango clonal nursery was established inside the campus. This has expanded into the Mango Comprehensive Technological Program.

Today, the small nursery situated in a corner of a vast and idle savanna-like area along the highway in Tacurong City has evolved into the Mango Breeding and Development Center. As demand from farmers for seeds and plantlets – as well as technical expertise – grew, the Center continually tries to improve techniques in mango breeding.

The Center now has value-added services, from technical assistance to mango planters to training to more research and development. The demand started to pour in, Marquez she said, as farmers wanted more plantlets and technical assistance. As the Center started to profit, it also went into more R&D.

Currently. Marquez said, the Center is focusing on mango plant production "to meet the huge demand" and is now propagating a wide choice of excellent varieties of carabao, talaban and labao mangoes – and even the famous Guimaras mango variety that gets high approval rating from local farmers.

Clients come mostly from Mindanao, especially Regions 11 and 12 and the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao. Most of them came to know of the Mango Breeding and Development Center through referrals from previous clients who now make up a wide network of mango farmers in the region.

Words spread among the farmers of Tacurong and nearby provinces. The demand for mango plantlets multiplied and farmers clamored for training in improved mango production.

"Our clients keep on coming back for technical assistance and other agriculture-related matters," Marquez said. "As a way of giving back what DOST gave us, we see to it that our doors are always open."

The provincial govern-ment also commended the mango breeding project as it is aligned with its ambitious flagship program of making Sultan Kudarat the region’s biggest mango producer and fruit basket.

The SKPSC also promotes high-value crops including calamansi, corn, rice, banana and other fruits. It has linked with the Department of Agriculture and local cooperatives in popularizing mango and fruit production.

A plantlet costs about P12 to P15 – depending on the variety – and earnings vary depending on the demand. From January to June last year, the project generated about P25,000. But more important, the project spurred the development of other plant-breeding projects such as the nearby Anthurium garden that yields beautiful varieties with colors ranging from orange and yellow to red and green.

"Our clients trust us because we have research component," Marquez pointed out. "We never give them a bad crop. Our quality products in fact carry the name of the school."

That is true as the SKSPC stamp identifies quality plantlets as coming from the SKPSC Mango Breeding and Development Center. The DOST continues to support the Center by continuously sending experts as resource persons during training seminars. Information kits and other reading materials on mango production are also distributed to farmers.

"A lot of the farmers wanted regular training on how to run a mango production business more efficiently," Marquez recalled. "So we started conducting monthly trainings. Sometimes we visit their farms so we can make customized evaluation and assessments on particular issues, say pest management. We are living up to the purpose that this project is geared up on improving mango production in the region," she pointed. "We continue to research on how to further improve our production."

Farmers, she added, "also look up to as their agricultural consultant. Upon their request, we continually assist them in mango production."

Mango trees take five years to mature and eventually yield harvest. Just like any other fruit trees, mango had been a staple in food processing industry where it is converted into juice, candies, and now even wine – all with a potentially big global market.

In the Philippines, mangoes are widely planted in the island province of Guimaras. But plant breeders at the SKPSC Mango Breeding and Development Center know that the fertile plateau and mild climate of Sultan Kudarat could compete with Guimaras by propagating a wider variety and strain of quality mangoes.

Already, the food giant Dole Philippines has signified field interest in contract growing for farmers to supply mangoes.

As Marquez would like to point, it has all been worth effort. /MP